Service Description: The Law states that parents of a child of compulsory school age must ensure that he/she receives full-time education and if a child fails to attend punctually and regularly then his/her parents are guilty of an offence.
Also known as:- Absences, Fixed Penalty Notices (Education), Parent Prosecution, Truancy
Answer: ‘Authorised’ and ‘unauthorised’ are the way in which absences are differentiated on the school register. Only the Headteacher, within the context of the law, can approve an absence, not parents. Parental notes, telephone calls or personal contact in relation to particular absences merely provide an explanation. It does do not necessarily mean that schools are obliged to accept that explanation or to authorise the absence. When doubt remains about explanations for absence or where there is no explanation for absence at all, the absence must be treated as “unauthorised absence”. - Related Link